I payed $65 for RE5 and I don’t regret it

This was a good game. I was wary of the co-op at first, as while I think co-op should be a feature in most games, it seemed as if it would be forced. It wasn’t, and while I only played a few chapters single player, it didn’t feel that the AI was a hindrance. The game will be familiar to anyone who played RE4, though with some of the more Metal Gear Solid inspired moments downplayed (not that the codec, I mean, radio conversations in RE4 really mattered).

One of the larger complaints people have is that you can’t move and shoot. Wahh wahhh cry me a river. The controls work, and while allowing people to run and gun won’t ruin anything, it only serves to further remove the series from any horror roots and make it into an action game.

The games biggest flaws are the completely asinine Resident Evil continuity. I should really need only point to the severe case of Revolver Ocelot Syndrome that Wesker has, (perhaps more severe than Patient Zero himself, seeing as Wesker clearly died on screen in first game, and quite obviously was just an unimportant traitor in the grand scheme of things), but there are a couple of other parts that are annoying.

It’s a two player co-op game, starring Chris Redfield and some chick named Sheva. Why did they feel the need to introduce a new character? There’s a shitload of characters from the other games they could have used. Just to name a few, Rebecca, Barry (Where’s Barry?!), even Claire, or, I don’t know, fucking Jill Valentine?

But of course they can’t use Jill, she’s dead. Dead, you ask? Well yeah, Jill was killed between games, which wouldn’t be so bad but they then introduce the subplot of Chris finding out she might be alive and looking for her. Boy did that one last a whole six minutes. They reveal pretty early that she’s ‘dead’, but it’s rushed over and and by the time you realize that you didn’t play the events they’ve started showing you sepia tone flashbacks of how it happened.

Anyway, Jill is dead so Chris is partnered with Sheva, a character I assume exists for the same reason Robin Quivers is on the Howard Stern Show. Sheva herself is a likable character but her connection to the story is rather loose (there are some brief attempts at characterization, with her expressing dismay at how her homeland is being destroyed, but you don’t really care because she mentions it less than I do), so whoever is playing her will wind up feeling like the sidekick rather than “partner” (a word you will hear about six hundred times while you play this game).

The game has become more abstract compared to RE4. There’s no omnipresent merchant selling you weapons in every random location, instead you can just upgrade and buy new gear between missions, or whenever you start (or restart from death) a game. This is a little too meta-game for my tastes, but it only becomes annoying because you can bring your upgraded equipment into someone elses game, and you can repeat early levels to gain more money.

For all its faults, though, RE5 is damn fun. And I mean damn fun. The game is short, but never dull. It moves from location to location, and each situation you get thrown into winds up unique. The developers don’t over use any enemy or game mechanic, so your adrenaline is pumping as nothing has a chance to feel routine.

The final boss fight in particular is probably one of the greatest moments in coop gameplay ever. Despite being in the most idiotic over the top locations, it is probably one of my favorite boss fights in recent memory, if not all time.